Across the country, states are pushing to close their small rural schools with the mistaken hope of saving money, in spite of overwhelming evidence that smaller schools are beneficial for students, and that they frequently function as the glue that binds together small communities, serving as their economic and social hub. The battle is even more…

The 2008 Central States Conference on the Teaching of Foreign Languages, a joint conference with the Michigan World Language Association, focused on learning about the diverse backgrounds and needs of today's students and discovering new ways to help them succeed in reaching the goal of language proficiency. A wide variety of workshops and…

This book describes FIRST (Focussed Instruction in Reading for Successful Teaching) Reading, a computer program that takes answers to 20 questions about a learner and matches this profile against profiles in the database. FIRST Reading, formerly called "Consult Reading," can recommend the most-likely-to-succeed teaching focus(es) for…

This short booklet describes Montessori preschool methods, materials, and environments. The booklet provides background on Maria Montessori and highlights her commitment to facilitating the self-creating process of the child. Preschool years are described as being critical in that they are the peak of children's ability to absorb all that is going…

This short booklet describes Montessori elementary education methods, materials, and environments. The booklet discusses 6-year-olds as inquisitive individuals seeking to make sense of their existence and experiences. It also presents a cosmic educational perspective which emphasizes a global world view. Storytelling is discussed as a way to…

This handbook provides information about implementing inclusive educational opportunities for high school students with significant cognitive disabilities using modified courses developed or approved by the Manitoba (Canada) Ministry of Education and Training. Individual sections of the handbook address: a description of the modified course…

This report describes first year activities and results of a project comparing two early interventions with 102 children (grades 1 and 2) at risk for emotional or behavior disorders. Fifty-nine children received an intervention involving social skills lessons given on a whole-class basis at least twice a week with information sent home regularly…

Developed as part of a National Workplace Literacy Program, this lesson focuses on terms and mathematical operations associated with Statistical Process Control (SPC) in the foundry industry. With appropriate assistance and preparatory work, workers testing between grades 4 and 9 on the Test of Adult Basic Education Locator should be able to use…

This paper briefly identifies a number of contemporary pressures for change which condition the way universities will behave and which provide both opportunities and threats for the future; it then goes on to consider the implications for distance education universities. Pressures on universities include such factors as the growth of other…

This report describes one part of the Classroom Practices Study, focusing on systematic observations of gifted and talented students in 46 third and fourth grade classrooms. The observations were designed to determine if and how teachers meet the needs of gifted and talented students in regular classroom settings. The Classroom Practices Record…

This videotape and viewing guide present an emerging learner-centered paradigm of teaching and learning and answer questions of why and how a staff changes its practices. The viewing guide describes the elementary school in the videotape, noting the full inclusion of 50 students identified as disabled, the team approach in which teachers are…

This compilation presents material relating to the ReCaRe (Reading and Content-area Resource) program, a one-semester elective course for secondary school students of all ability levels designed to develop their reading comprehension, vocabulary, rate of reading, and study skills. The first part of the compilation is a 48-page booklet entitled…

When the New Zealand Qualifications Authority began designing the National Qualifications Framework, it was discovered that the modular studies program in Tikipunga High School was a model of the type of preparation needed to implement the framework. Characteristics of the Tikipunga modular studies program are as follows: (1) a 6-week semester for…

This proposal begins with a discussion of technologies used by distance education programs to deliver instruction, including the use of video by the Open Education Faculty (OEF) at Anadolu University in Turkey. The first of five chapters discusses modes of communication that can be used in distance education together with their functions. Specific…

A working model of self-regulated learning based on the literature was developed together with an inventory of 71 items designed to test the five dimensions of the model: metacognition, learning strategies, motivation, contextual sensitivity, and environmental utilization/control. A five-point Likert scale was used to rank the items. Subjects were…